DILWYN is to host a “clear the air” public meeting over the Audit Commission report that highlighted serious failings in the way its parish council conducted the purchase of a pub  as a community hub.

The meeting is set for The Cedar Hall, Dilwyn on Monday, April 13, starting at 7.30pm.

As reported by the Hereford Times, an investigation report out this week finds the council failed to comply with its own standing orders and financial regulations and took action without proper authorisation.

The Audit Commission (AC) says £34,689 spent on the refurbishment of the pub by Dilwyn parish council was “potentially unlawful” with it not being possible to trace proper payment approval.

Councillors were also found to not to have made “proper” declarations of interest at meetings in which payments were made to them.

The investigation, carried out by Grant Thornton UK LLP on behalf of the AC, revolved around the council’s purchase of  The Crown, Dilwyn, to be retained – ahead of an auction – as a community asset.

That purchase went ahead in early 2012 with the pub bought from Punch Taverns for about £250,000 for renovation and reopening.

The council used grants and a public works loan to raise the money.

In the AC report, the council concedes that proper procedures were not always followed, but offered a justification of circumstances in which “speed was of the essence” to make the project viable.

Grant Thornton, however, found this argument to be “put forward after the event” and in response to enquiries having not been recorded in council minutes as such.

Time pressure, the report says, could have been avoided with better planning and allowing for “sufficient” time for proper governance procedures to be adhered to.

In a response to the Hereford Times, the council said it was “likely” to formally accept the findings of the report in full  and “guarantee”  to implement all of the related recommendations – with a number already in place.